robsker

That is pretty impressive. Marlon has been effective. He is being asked by some to be what he is not. OK he is not a John Riggins "it takes 12 guys to tackle me" kind of guy. He is however quite good in space, is fast and is producing. We should be thankful that this young man is on our team And I reiterate, do not be surprised to see Marlon as a receiver in the NFL (and perhaps a really good one at that).

All it takes is 2 missed tackles and that can be a 14 point spread. Literally. Now, NU has missed a half dozen or more open field tackles per game --- ususlly someone catches up to the guy with the ball and it is a big gainer -- or not --- and it is a score. My point is this, the difference of 14 points between two teams can be 2 plays out of 75. Can MU reasonably beat NU by 14. Yes. Can they beat NU by 28 or 35? Yes. Will it happen? Maybe. My prediction is MU 42 NU 24 --- so I guess, yes, I'd predict a 18 point spread. But it is only a guess. This game can be anywhere from a close NU win to an MU blow-out. It depends on how well NU plays --- will they be focused, will they be in the right position defensively, and will they have learned to tackle since last week? If the answer to any of those questions is No, MU wins. If the answer to all those questions are No, MU blows us out. If the answer to all of these are Yes, NU wins. My point, the outcome of this game will depend on NU and how well the coaches have them prepared. MU is simply there. If the NU coaches have the team ready then they should beat MU. But if they play disorganized, confused, and w/o intensity like they have been, then NU loses. My prediction is that they will not be well prepared. MU wins and wins fairly big. Of course, I hope I am wrong.

We have already fallen down the slippery slope and no one cares about us. People everywhere are indifferent about NU. The reality then is that under Callahan NU was supposed to be climbing back UP the slope and ideally commanding the attention of the nation once more on the basis of an improved program. Thus far it has been like walking up a slide in the park while wearing socks --- you make it up a notch (or so it seems) and then fall and slide down again. Beating MU will not really move NU up much --- but losing will more fully solidify that NU has fallen. Frankly, even if NU beats Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, and KState --- well, these programs are themselves viewed as third tier teams (or 4th tier) and so no one at the national level will be impressed. If, however, NU loses, well then..... more fuel to the fire that says Big Red is not so big. This is an unpleasant reality. Winning will mean little but losing will mean much.

Its kind of hard not to like Major Culbert. He seems like a real team player who will do, without complaing, whatever he is told. I wish him well. He seems to be quite an athlete so here hoping that he plays well.

No, my friend, it has to be more than that. We have to give credit where credit is due. CU and KSU played some really good, focused, intense, football --- they missed few tackles, dropped few passes, had a great deal of gang tackling, had intensity that was really impressive and well.... they just looked really well prepared and solid. Sure, it may be that Texas and Oklahoma may have been caught naping but --- hey, I dislike CU and KSU as much as the next guy --- but those two teams have improved a great deal.

Well, NU is the better team -- of this there can be no doubt. That is, NU has more talent --- better recruiting having had stocked NU with appreciably better athletes than MU. Not even MU fans who are honest could argue with that. However, talent and how that talent is utilized, how that talent is prepared and how that talent is able to play unified, confidant, and focused are two very different things. I cannot say how MU is in the area of preparedness, intensity, focus or gameplan, coaching. But I can say that NU is struggling in every one of these areas. If NU comes in with the level of preparedness, focus, intensity and gameplan that has characterized them this season then even though they have more talent, MU will win in a game that will not even be remotely close. So, I guess that is to say that I agree. This is NU's game to lose.

Missouri 42 Huskers 27 Rushing --- 165 yards Passing --- 300 yards

They had a winning % of 56% before Mack Brown got their, he has NEVER won less than 9 games and never lost more than 4. He is a good coach and yes he is MUCH better than Callahan. I don't think Mack Brown is a great coach but he is better than ours. I don't think our should be fired for underachieving I think our should be let go (and he will be in a few years) because he is a mediocre coach and he is not the right coach for NU. And trust me if Mack Brown had Cally's record he would be fired. Their defense is much better than ours and they give up less than 4 yds per rush and they held their 2 toughest opponents to 251 and 277 yds on offense. Texas has no leadership and they are a mess right now. They have the talent to pull it together but I don't know if they will. He develops talent very well, and you can look at his NFL drafts to answer your own question. You guys are honestly drinking too much Kool Aid if you think we are a better team than TX. We can beat them if they keep this up and we improve but we are not more talented and we don't have a better coach. Also, if you look at my desire for NU football it's to win 10+ games a year and be in a BCS game every couple of years and a NC chase every 5 years, similar to OU and TX like we were promised by PUD......remember? Lastly, I don't claim to have all the knowledge and I have only brought up my resume when people challenge what experience I have to make my accusations. I have also repeatedly stated that anyone and everyone's opinions are equal as long as they are factually based and original. Interesting debate. Which coaching staff is worse! Texas, at the moment, is severely under-achieving and has consistently under-achieved over the years. But Texas has so much talent (second probably only to USC --- and then only of late --- if averaged over the past 9 seasons then Texas arguably has had the most talent) that even when under-achieving they will have a fine record. Should they likely have had more success? Yes. I'd say that Brown is a modest coach, average so to speak --- but in the right place at the right time; great recruiting base, some historically good assistant coaches, some insane talent available. Is Brown a better coach than Callahan? No one can defend their choice in any dogmatic manner, but.... I would say that yes Mack Brown, while an average coach, at best, is still quite a bit ahead of Callahan. NU also has talent --- nowhere near that for Texas --- and yes NU also severely under-achieves (probably as much, or more so below the NU talent level than does Texas play below theirs). The difference is that Mack Brown still wins 83% of his games or so (but should win 90%) whereas Callahan wins 60-65% of his games (about that when this season ends) and should be winning 80% (or slightly better). Of course, the going gets tougher as you win more because that places you in championship games and big bowls and the competition gets better --- so it is tougher on Texas. .

Well.... have you noticed how many ex-Huskers who were good but not great at NU end up very solid indeed in the NFL? People like Scott Schanle, Ruud, Fabian Washington, the bullocks brothers, etc --- all were, of course, pretty good to, at times, quite good, at NU but nowhere near the caliber a player that one would expect NFL starter status for them. So.... my point is that one cannot really tell who will and who will not make it. But, I'd think that Octavian (were it not for his health issues) and Rudd might be borderline draftable players. Keller, who knows yet --- lets see what happens in the next seven games. Purify seems a real, real longshot to get drafted. Brett Byford is anyones guess --- interior lineman are tough to assess. That Brett is a great young man with character is certain and so I wish him the best. Bowman --- another injury guy who might be a low round risk someone is willing to gamble on. Grixby is also an outside shot. Rather smallish and so he has that against him. But that kid deserves props he has played with great heart and has a never-say-die attitude --- a true Husker. I hope he gets a shot. Maybe Carl Nicks is the closest thing NU has to a near certain draftable player. Again, he is an interior line guy and they are hard to judge --- yet most consider him to be really quite good. So.... when taken as a whole, there are an array of maybes and no real certains out there. Maybe Keller will be --- only time will tell.

I don't know if I would call 7-9 years "rapidly". Dave: I think that were you to ask the national press or ask people outside of Nebraska (and their faithful fans) when it was that NU became irrelevant, most would say that NU died in 2004. That would be 7 years and you are right, perhaps that is not so fast. It was however, quite the fall. Most teams that step out of the limelight do not go from dynasty to afterthought --- in seven years. Yet, I stand corrected, seven years is not that fast.

Grateful: I agree that the Huskers are better than the vast majority of their remaining opponents --- if by this you mean amount of talent and athleticism --- NU is better than all of them except for Texas. However, the team plays at a level wildly below their talent level. NU is an epic underachiever --- poor mental preparation, bad fundamentals (poor technique), modest conditioning/strength, second rate X's and o's especially on defense, and is a team with confidence problems. So, even though NU has superior talent relative to almost all of the remaining opponents, I think they go either 2 - 5 or 3 - 4 the rest of the way out. The real key game is Missouri --- if MU hammers NU, by three or more TD's then expect NU to roll over and fold up the tent for this season. If NU plays well and it is close then they will be OK. If NU wins, well then a 3 -4 or even 4-3 record is possible. But.... I am hard pressed to see NU beat MU --- not the way they have been playing.

NU has Colorado, Missouri and Kansas and Texas on the road. Given the road woes that NU has had and the trouble with the defense and with the inability to run the ball, I would be be surprised if NU won more than one of these games (so 1 -3 on the road). At home NU has Oky State, KState and an A&M --- it would be nice to get 2 of those three, but, I don't know.... 2 - 5 the rest of the way out or 3 - 4 sounds about right.

KS doubtless looks better than NU --- and they have a better chance than NU to survive the B12 North --- but they will lose some games (I would think). I would expect the Huskers from here out to go either 2 - 5 or 3 -4 and for KSU to go maybe 4 - 3. NU has Colorado, Missouri and Kansas and Texas on the road. Given the road woes that NU has had and the trouble with the defense and with the inability to run the ball, I would be be surprised if NU won more than one of these games (so 1 -3 on the road). At home NU has Oky State, KState and an A&M --- it would be nice to get 2 of those three, but, I don't know.... 2 - 5 the rest of the way out or 3 - 4 sounds about right.

Unless the Huskers turn things around in the next few years, then expect that by 2009 or so not to see any Husker games on TV except when we play the foil (the team who is supposed to be rolled) by a national power. Maybe a game or two a year, at best. As the team moves into mediocrity it will continually move towards irrelevance as well and become increasingly obscure. Try to find a Nebraska hat at a Wal-mart, K-Mart or Target anywhere outside of Nebraska and it is almost impossible --- Louisville, Michigan, Miami, Florida State, USC, Ohio State Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Bama, Florida, Cal, Oregon, yes ---- but NU, no. It is amazing how NU football has gone from forefront to forgotten so rapidly.

Just curious ... other than a weak schedule, what weaknesses have you seen in KU? Good Question, Jeep. Really the main weakness I see is holdover from last season --- that is, KU is not overly athletic. Their speed and quickness does not (or at least last year did not) appear remotely like that of a top 25 team. They have not had many good recruiting years of late and so, admittedly this is speculation , I am hard-pressed to see them with a team speed --- or, for that matter, a team strength or physicality in the trenches, that KU will be much improved over last year. That said, they have been solid. So, I'd guess that this is their weakness. Really, NU seems as though it has far more talent than does KU. For that matter, NU has more talent, it would seem, than does CU, KSU and even Missouri. But the team is playing at (+ or - very little) from the level of this group. While NU has trouble with fundamentals like tackling and gap assignments on defense, adjustments on offense and maybe mental preparation and confidence, KU just generally is not very athletic (but seems to be better coached and more fundamentally sound than NU --- as are all the B12 North rival squads). So it is a wash --- anything can happen in these games. Or, at least that is my take.

History suggests that the team with two weeks off (in this case Missouri) has the advantage if the team that did play last weak (in this case NU) played poorly or got banged up (or both). If the team that played the week before (NU) played well and are not nicked up, the advantage is with the team that played (NU). So,... did the Huskers play well last week? They played OK. They certainly played better than they did the week before that. Did they get nicked up? I think maybe. Suh, Steinkuler, Grix all went out for some of the game. So, I think it is tough to say. Also, two weeks off is more of an an advantage to a good coaching staff. In the final analysis, I'd guess that it will not be much of a factor. In answer to the question, "Can they turn it on"? I would guess yes. They really want to kill NU and I think they will unless the Huskers put together their best 4 quarters of this season. Our D better be head and shoulders better than they have been the last three weeks or holding Missouri to below 40 points seems unlikely. Perhaps NU can also score 40 points. Who knows?

I think anyone who has predictions about B12 North games and has confidence that they know the outcome is fooling themselves. It should be clear that CU, KSU, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas all can range, in any given day, from rather mediocre to pretty good. Each squad has major weaknesses that can be exploited. Each squad has some real strengths as well. Which team shows up when will dictate the outcomes. And, of course, turnovers, mistakes and breaks. All games will be likely be closely contested. The Huskers could easily lose to all four of these B12 rivals. If they did, I would not be surprised, overly. NU could beat all four. Again, I would not be overly surprised. More likely though is that no single team among the group will go without losing (that is go 4-0) or without winning (that is go 0-4). Expect that they will all be in the 3 - 1 to 1- 3 range. So, I'd expect that at the end of the season, no B12 North team will be ranked. In reality, probably none of them should be --- all are reasonable teams but none are national caliber competitive teams (consistently). Yes, CU and KSU have had their 15 minutes of fame this season, but each squad (like NU, Missouri, Kansas) are solid, but not really week in/week out top 25 stuff. Or, if so, then only at the fringe of the top 25 --- because none of them are far off the mark, just not quite there.

Beating Missouri would be a long, long, long way from a signature win. Missouri has done precisely zero on the national scene in football. If you were to ask 100 fans in each state across the nation (except Missouri) to list the top 10 current football programs --- well, I would be surprised if Missouri would receive a single vote. In fact, extend the poll to a top 20 and I still doubt Missouri would get any votes. A signature win is not possible for NU this year (at least in the regular season). Because Texas has been exposed, even beating them would be less than signature (it might still be close but really the national response would just be that Texas is weak this year). Now, if we play in the B12 Conference championship against say Oklahoma and beat them --- well that would be a signature win if Oklahoma wins all the rest of their games and is back in the top 5 -6 nationally. But beating Missouri will not even warrant replays on ESPN and will generate yawns across the country. Losing to Missouri --- now that will get some attention. But beating them is not a big deal.

Do not forget that DuBose blew out a knee and when he returned he was a shadow of his former self. Actually, before that injury (and unfortunately before he had a chance to show it in games) DuBose was mind blowing. I was in graduate school at NU at that time and watched many practices (when I should have been studying). DuBose looked like he was going to be flat sensational before he got hurt. He is one of those football tragedies --- unreal potential never realized because of injury (and, in this case, the kid also exacerbated the issue with some partying issues that did not help).

Yeah. He's a 3rd down back. We need someone with more strength and power to carry the ball 20+ times/ game. If Marlon makes the professional level, I'd guess that the NFL coaches will move him to be a receiver. His hands and good. He runs well after the catch, in space he runs very well. He has good speed (but not quickness). Because he is not physical, does not follow blocks well, nor has he good field vision in traffic, he is limited as a RB (at least by NFL standards --- by college standards he is pretty good). Also, while not overly physical for a RB, he would be considered fairly physical for a receiver and has some blocking skill.

So then, no one seemingly is severely injured. Good. Steinkuhler seems injured quite often. Poor guy. seems like a tough kid.

Agreed. And that will make this season really exciting. every game should be contested closely (I hope --- unless NU wins in a blowout). It does seem that we should expect about .500 from here on out. Every game should be fun.

I did not get a chance to listen to the game today but reading some ofthe posts incline me to think that some Huskers got banged up. Is that the case? Who? To what extent?

Check yourself before you wreck yourself. If this doesn't motivate the defense, I don't know what will. Actually the kid did not say that they will beat NU by 30 but rather that they "need to beat NU by 30 points." So, as bulletin board material this one is not so much smack talk as it is a guy who feels the urgency to win and win big. He actually made no prediction. Still... ours coaches should seize the moment and hopefully motivate our guys simply because the MU kid thinks it is possible. As to the game itself.... wow, who knows what will happen in that one. I simply hope NU does well and that our fans conduct themselves well whatever the outcome.

Thank you for this post! It was most enjoyable to read some of these statements. Bear Bryant must have been quite the guy to have known. They do not seem to make guys like him anymore. Again, thanks.